Pep Guardiola makes incredible Erling Haaland call as boss names ‘exceptional’ player vital to Man City cause

Pep Guardiola feels Erling Haaland is now operating at the same level as two legends of the game and urged the ‘exceptional’ Kevin de Bruyne never to drop his intensity.

The duo were once again instrumental in City picking up three points as the Citizens beat Southampton 4-1. Haaland opened the scoring on 45 minutes after a first half in which Southampton competed well. Jack Grealish doubled the visitors’ lead on 58 minutes before Haaland notched his 30th Premier League goal of the campaign.

The Norway international’s spectacular overhead kick was his 44th in all competitions. That tally equalled the most by a Premier League player in a single season.

Sekou Mara pulled one back for Saints but Julian Alvarez’s penalty restored City’s three-goal cushion.

And Guardiola paid tribute to the opposition for the way they made life difficult for his side during the opening 45 minutes.

“I give a lot of credit to Southampton. Their game plan was really, really good,” he told BBC Sport.

“Sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition when you’re not at your level.

“We were fortunate to be ahead at half-time. We had more physicality in the second half. We found the second goal after we won a dual and after it was easy.”

Guardiola hails Haaland impact

Haaland is now on course to beat the record for goals scored in a single Premier League season. That stands at 34 and is held jointly by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole.

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The former Borussia Dortmund man has nine games left to move past the legendary duo.

Guardiola admits he is crucial to the Manchester City cause and feels he can now be likened to a pair of footballing icons of the recent era.

“The second goal was amazing. It is not easy to pick the ball up in the sky and put it on the grass,” he added.

“His talent is really good. We need him. The first half was not our best level but he changed the game.

“As a top scorer we lived two incredible decades with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi but he is on that level.

“He scores a lot of goals. I am very happy with 65 minutes after injury and he helped us again.”

Exceptional De Bruyne urged to keep levels high

De Bruyne registered his 100th Premier League assist during the contest.

The 31-year-old has also notched 62 league goals for the Etihad outfit since arriving in August 2015.

Guardiola acknowledged the impact that the Belgium international makes on his team.

And he urged the talented playmaker to continue to operate at the top of his game.

“Kevin is playing at that level. He was involved in many things. He is exceptional,” he told Sky Sports. “There are players who need to play at 40% but he is a guy who needs to play for every action at a high, high level.

“When one player has this 80-90% intensity and ability to see the passes he is more calm than the ones at 40%. He is an exceptional player.”

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